Christopher Murray

Reggie Van Lee

Patricia Woertz

Krista Thompson

Health is one of the World Economic Forum’s key focus areas as it is directly aligned with the Forum’s mission: Committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in shaping the global, regional and industry agendas. The Forum focuses on three key health-related activities: advocacy, dialogue and action through partnership.

The Forum recognises health as an important part of long-term economic development and engages its members and other stakeholders to advocate health as an investment.

Health is an issue that involves multiple stakeholders – intergovernmental organisations, NGOs, local governments, academic experts, private organizations, and others, all of which are trying to contribute to health and to ensure availability and quality of health services. The Forum is uniquely positioned to connect these stakeholders and catalyze improved efficiency through meaningful dialogue and interactions within the global health agenda.

Recognising that private sector participation is critical to addressing health issues, the Forum plays an active role in engaging the private sector and setting up public-private partnerships (PPP) to help address global health challenges.

Health is an area in which entrepreneurship can flourish. It is the mission of the Forum’s Health team to galvanise business to take action in global health. A comprehensive and holistic approach to improving health reveals several gaps – opportunities wherein ideas and industries can thrive with a focus on health.

In terms of healthcare delivery, there's growing recognition that the old models are not sustainable in developed countries. They also do not provide broad enough access in the less developed world. As chronic and non-communicable disease rates continue to climb, governments, private sector, and non-governmental organizations are wrestling with how to provide, disseminate, and pay for adequate prevention and treatment. Emerging markets could play a key role in the solution as a source of innovation arising from the availability of talent and cost structures.

The objectives of the dialogue on healthcare delivery are to better understand the role of the private sector in healthcare delivery, identify new innovative cost effective models of quality healthcare delivery and generate greater awareness of the identified scalable and replicable models across markets.

Otto Cars, Professor of Infectious Diseases at Uppsala University, warns that the days of curing pneumonia and carrying out organ transplants will be over unless we tackle antibiotic resistance. The interview is part of the Risk Response Network’s “What if?” series.

Why is this something that worries you? When Alexander Fleming was awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering penicillin in 1945, in his acceptance speech he warned that the misuse of this medicine would lead to the development of bacterial resistance. Researchers have always known that if you use...

Dead Sea, Jordan 21-23 October 2011Special Meeting on Economic Growth and Job Creation in the Arab World

Recent shifts in the Arab world coupled with an economic contraction at the global level have created a new urgency for decision-makers across the region: the need to address the fundamental conditions required to revive growth and support human development.

Now more than ever, it is critical to match employment, entrepreneurship and education prospects with the aspirations of young populations. This has clearly become a key in the decisions taken by government,...

Non-communicable diseases have been established as a clear threat not only to human health, but also to development and economic growth. Claiming 63% of all deaths, these diseases are currently the world’s main killer. Eighty percent of these deaths now occur in low- and middle-income countries. Half of those who die of chronic non-communicable diseases are in the prime of their productive years, and thus, the disability imposed and the lives lost are also endangering industry competitiveness across borders.

Non-communicable diseases have been established as a clear threat not only to human health, but also to development and economic growth. Claiming 63% of all deaths, these diseases are currently the world’s main killer. Eighty percent of these deaths now occur in low- and middle-income countries. Half of those who die of chronic non-communicable diseases are in the prime of their productive years, and thus, the disability imposed and the lives lost are also endangering industry competitiveness across borders.

The Annual Meeting of the New Champions, the “Summer Davos”, is the foremost global business gathering in Asia. Introduced in 2007 in close collaboration with the People’s Republic of China and with the personal support of Premier Wen Jiabao, the 2010 Meeting in Tianjin convened 1,300 participants, including over 400 CEOs from Forum Partner and Member companies together with up-and-coming leaders from business, politics, science and technology from 80 countries. In 2011, there was even stronger...

Robust economic growth and an improved investment climate have underpinned the economic recovery of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), buoyed by an emerging market of nearly 600 million consumers. The planned economic integration by 2015 will see ASEAN emerge as the world’s 10th largest economy. As Chair of ASEAN in 2011, its largest economy and a member of the G20, Indonesia is the ideal location to host the 20th anniversary of the World Economic Forum on East Asia, convening leaders...

Cape Town, South Africa, 4-6 May 2011
From Vision to Action, Africa’s Next Chapter

Cape Town, South Africa, 4-6 May 2011From Vision to Action, Africa’s Next Chapter

“Partnerships are desirable and necessary and have worked well for us,” Tanzanian President Jakaya M. Kikwete told participants in a session on innovative partnerships for development. Added Kofi Annan “Our vision is not just to help farmers to feed themselves but also to feed the markets so Africa can become part of the global food security system. This is not a pipe dream.”

Based on the output of the Scenarios in 2030, this report highlights 11 options to better cater for the changing retirement and healthcare expectations, especially in the current time when resources are stretched. The report makes the case for an integrated response and looks at pensions and healthcare in tandem for future sustainability and suggests solutions from the opportunities rather than challenges and risks.

Harnessing Private-Sector Capabilities to Meet Public Needs: The Potential of Partnerships to Advance Progress on Hunger, Malaria and Basic Education outlines action the private sector can take to help meet the Millennium Development Goals on hunger, malaria and basic education.

One of the most eminent challenges facing the world today is the ageing of our societies. The United Nations (2007) predicts that by 2050 the number of people aged 60 and older in developed countries will have increased from 21% today to 32%, and in the less-developed countries from 8% today to 20%. This will have profound implications for labour markets, aggregate demand, politics and societal structures. In addition, ageing societies will significantly challenge the affordability of traditional pension and healthcare systems. New approaches and new solutions from both governments and the private sector are required.

This report identifies 3 global scenarios for 2030 and 2 sets of case studies from China and India. These scenarios are designed to challenge current thinking, create new insights, facilitate the debate between key decision-makers and provide momentum for action. New forms of collaboration between key stakeholders – individuals, financial institutions, healthcare providers, employers and governments – will be critical to finance the ongoing well-being of current and future generations in a sustainable manner.

The ageing of society demands action as the window of opportunity to adequately prepare for this shift is closing fast. While immediate concerns about rising healthcare costs and pension structures require attention, fundamental long-term questions should not be neglected. Although the current global economic turmoil has put further pressure on already stretched resources, heightening the urgency of addressing demographic shifts, it is also presenting a once-in-a-generation opportunity for transformational change. Times of uncertainty create space for radical and creative thinking, and now may be an ideal time to attempt reform while people are more open than ever to new ideas.

Based on the output of the Scenarios in 2030, this report highlights 11 options to better cater for the changing retirement and healthcare expectations, especially in the current time when resources are stretched. The report makes the case for an integrated response and looks at pensions and healthcare in tandem for future sustainability and suggests solutions from the opportunities rather than challenges and risks.

Mobile Health or mHealth is the cover-all term for the use of mobile devices in healthcare. The emerging mobile platforms and the rapid progress in medical technologies are poised to trigger more accessible health services in the decade to come.

Emerging mobile platforms and the rapid progress in medical technologies are poised to trigger more accessible health services in the decade to come.

Mobile Health (or m-health) is the cover-all term for the use of mobile devices in the healthcare arena. The key benefit of mobile devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) or mobile phones is in the way it enable communication and the delivery of medical information between practitioners and patients.

Mobile health may be of particular benefit in the developed world where hand-held devices and other mobile communications...

The efficiency of health systems relies on the quality and accessibility of the data collected or received. Often, accurate health data is not available when and where needed. The Forum's Global Charter for Heath Data will drive improvements in how health data is captured and used.

Endorsing the Global Health Data Charter

The current list of organizations that endorsed the Global Health Data Charter can be found here. Should your organization be interested in endorsing this Charter and adding its name to the 'Global Health Data Charter Endorsement' document, kindly contact: datacharter@weforum.org.

Background to the Issue

Finding accurate data can be a serious problem in developing countries and this limits the ability of policy makers to plan and provide appropriate levels of healthcare services.

As chronic and non-communicable disease rates continue to climb, governments, private sector, and non-governmental organizations are wrestling with how to provide, disseminate, and pay for adequate prevention and treatment. The general agreement is that the old model of delivery is not sustainable in the developed countries and does not provide broad enough access in the less developed world. Emerging markets could play a key role as a source of innovation arising from the availability of talent and cost structures.

Finding solutions for some of the health problems that we face will require a new approach. For endemic conditions, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, there needs to be a way of incentivizing major pharmaceutical companies to find affordable treatments for people on a low income. As chronic and non-communicable disease rates continue to climb, governments, private sector, and non-governmental organizations are wrestling with how to provide, disseminate, and pay for adequate prevention and treatment.

The general agreement is that the old model of delivery is not...

Post date:
October 20, 2010

The Global Health Initiative (GHI) was launched in 2002 by the World Economic Forum and its partners, to improve Global Health through three key activities: Advocacy, Dialogue and Partnerships. Its focus has been on Africa, India and China and on communicable diseases (HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria) as well as on strengthening Health Systems.